By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Rivera coach Salvador Garcia calls his soccer squad “a team of destiny.”
It’s a bright future that is unfolding with each passing day for the Raiders, who are headed to the coming week’s UIL state tournament in Georgetown.
Rivera qualified for state by defeating Northside Brandeis 3-1 in the Region IV-6A Tournament final Saturday before a crowd of approximately 2,500 at Brownsville Sports Park.
“I really believe that we are a team of destiny,” Garcia said. “I truly believe in our players.
“Since we lost last year in the regional final (3-2 to Lopez and missed out on going to state), our guys have said, ‘We’ll do whatever it takes to get there,’” Garcia added. “Now we have our ticket (to Georgetown ), and let’s see if we can take advantage of the opportunity that God is putting in front of us.”
Just like their regional semifinal Friday against San Antonio Reagan, also a 3-1 victory, the District 32-6A champion Raiders (26-0) scored early and never trailed Saturday against District 27-6A runner-up Brandeis (18-6-1), a team they had beaten 2-1 in last year’s regional semifinal in San Antonio .
Just seven minutes into the regional final, Rivera’s Alexis Herrera attacked from the left side and fired a picture-perfect cross to teammate Eliseo Ortiz, who sent a bullet into the net from point-blank range, and the Raiders were on there way.
“This feels great,” said Ortiz, a senior forward who also tallied Rivera’s third goal. “I’ve been saying that hard work pays off, and now we’re one step closer to our dream.”
The Raiders enjoyed some excellent scoring chances, but couldn’t convert, so the score remained 1-0 at intermission. During the opening half, Rivera took charge offensively right away and had a goal wiped out on an offside call while sending another shot off the crossbar.
It became 2-0 eight minutes into the second half when Rivera’s David Alexander dribbled in pretty much uncontested and fired a shot from medium range that went off the left post and into the net.
Down two goals, Brandeis refused to go away. It didn’t help matters for the Broncos that they had a penalty kick go wide left after a pushing foul in the 18-yard box on Rivera with 23 minutes remaining, but they still managed to pull within 2-1 just 39 seconds after the missed penalty. Brandeis scoring ace Patrico “ Pato” Botello-Faz , a senior forward, finally made enough space for himself to rifle in a shot from 18 yards to give his team new life, although it was short-lived.
Botello-Faz had scored four goals, all in the first half, during Brandeis’ 5-1 regional semifinal victory over PSJA North on Friday, and the Rivera defenders never allowed him to feel too lonely Saturday. “Pato” was constantly defended closely, became frustrated and even drew a yellow card because of it midway through the second half.
“What Coach Garcia does at Rivera is amazing,” said Brandeis coach Brian Maher, whose Broncos were playing in their first regional final. “His teams are almost untouchable. You can stay with them for a little while, but really in the end, they’re just too much.”
Throughout the final 40 minutes, the Raiders continued to fire a barrage of shots at the Brandeis goal, and with 2:11 to go, Ortiz tallied again from close range after receiving a centering pass from the right side by teammate Isidro “Chelin” Martinez to make it 3-1.
“We knew it was going to be hard (to go where we want to go) since the first day (of the season),” said Martinez, a senior attacking midfielder. “ We’ve been going up the stairs and doing better (each season) in the playoffs since my freshman year. Now this day has come. We’re going to celebrate our victory and keep working hard so we can do well at state.”
Added teammate Hernan Cruz, a junior midfielder/defender, “It’s unimaginable to be playing here in Brownsville , Texas , and have so many of our fans, and actually all of Brownsville , come out to support us. To have that kind of support, it’s just incredible. All I can say is ‘Go Raiders at state.’”
Rivera advanced to state in 2005 and 2007, losing in the state semifinals both times.
The pairings for the coming week’s state tournament in Georgetown are expected to be announced Sunday.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @ HessRgehess.